Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
Isabelle
“You need to calm down, Izzy.” Linc leans against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. “What could you have possibly told Jenny that can cause the family damage?”
I shake my head. He doesn’t seem to understand.
Linc is one of those people who trusts everyone.
It’s taken me years to make him realize that you can’t trust anyone.
“That slimy little bitch. I have employed Allison for what—eight years now? The first chance she gets to betray me, and to a person capable of spreading it across the tabloids, she does. I am so gonna fire her ass.”
“Where do you think they went?” Mia looks up at me from between heavily mascaraed eyelashes. “We need to stop arguing and listen to it over again.”
“Why don’t you come clean and tell me what happened that night?” Linc’s dark blue eyes move over my face as if searching for a lie. “How bad can it be and how the hell did Jenny find out about it if it’s such a secret that you can’t tell me?”
I pace up and down the room. “It’s complicated.”
“Mia, I think you should leave us alone.” Linc straightens and grips me by the shoulders. “It’s been a long time, Izzy. Tell me.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Mia pulls her knees up under her on the chair and makes herself comfortable.
I never wanted to become involved. I couldn’t have helped the girl in the next bed.
I look up at Linc and swallow hard. “I never spoke about it because I was frightened something might happen to the family. After I had Mia, Rachel was making such a fuss, she refused to look at her baby and the nurse put it in the same room with me. There really wasn’t anywhere else she could leave it; the hallway outside was busy with people sheltering from the hurricane.
As far as I’m aware there was only a staff member manning the front desk and a couple of orderlies.
That’s all I noticed when I came in.” I suck in a deep breath.
“This man came into the room, wearing a face mask but his eyes were almost black and he had a very intimidating stare.
He just glared at me and said, ‘I know who you are, Isabelle Croft, and I know where you live. Just remember that.’
“Then he pulled back the curtains and all hell broke loose. Rachel screamed and the man pounced on her and grabbed her by the neck. He was shaking her like a rag doll. I started screaming as well and our pilot who’d been waiting outside in the hallway came running in with a couple of complete strangers.
They grabbed at the man but he managed to slip through their hands and run away.
He’d lost his mask in the struggle and I saw his face and he knew it.
Rachel wouldn’t stop screaming and the nurse came in and gave her a shot of something.
She went to sleep. I thought at that time everything was over.
” Trembling, I grip the edge of the table and sit down.
“It wasn’t. The next day Rachel told me that man was the rapist who tried to murder her.
” I look at Linc. “I saw his face, Linc. I could identify him and he knows who I am and where I live.”
“Jesus.” Linc wipes a hand down his face. “Isn’t he in prison?”
I nod. I’d followed Clifton Barnes’ trial.
The story of the young victim, her name was never released to the public, and the fact she’d come out of the coma, agreed to testify against Barnes and her time spent at the clinic had been on the news.
“Yeah, but he’s due for release soon. Jenny was very smart, and it didn’t take her long to follow the clues and discover Rachel was the woman in the bed next to me.
She had her murder linked to that night after only doing minimal research and she believed it would be sensational to put in the book and even wrote it up in one of her chapters.
We didn’t even discuss it. I would never have risked the family by telling her the truth about what happened. ”
“I can’t believe you’re telling me after so long. If our family is in danger, you should have told me right away. This is ludicrous.” Linc glares at me. “How can I believe you? You make up so many stories about the past. I don’t know what’s true and what isn’t.”
I bite my bottom lip and a shudder goes through me.
“It’s true and I know I should have told you.
Rachel was able to identify him and this time they had DNA.
She scratched him.” I see Linc shake his head slowly and roll his eyes.
He doesn’t believe me. “You must believe me. During the trial Rachel’s name was kept secret—I knew who she was and I could identify her attacker.
” I cover my face. “I’d been drinking when Jenny asked me about the night Mia was born and I can’t remember what I told her.
I went ballistic when she showed me the chapter and fired her.
She said it didn’t matter now that Rachel’s dead.
She didn’t care that Rachel had been murdered and you blamed. ”
“If what you say is true, why could that possibly affect our family?” Linc drags a hand down his face. “I’ve been cleared of any involvement. Who else knows about this?”
“I do. I read the manuscript when Mom threw it on the floor. She asked me to burn it, which I did.” Mia shrugs. “The woman is dead. If this Barnes guy is involved in some way, why do we care? I sure as hell don’t.”
I look at them. They just don’t understand. “Jenny was thorough, she chased down leads all the time and found things I’d forgotten about years ago. She found Rachel’s sister—what if she told her?”
“What if she’s been murdered too?” Mia uncurls from the chair. “That would mean Barnes has someone killing for him on the outside.” She raises both eyebrows. “That’s possible. There are crazy people who write to and fall in love with men like him.”
I look at her and nod. “That’s true. What if Barnes is involved in Jenny’s disappearance? If so, he knows about the memoirs and wants to prevent me from publishing them. He doesn’t want the attention because as sure as hell, he wants to keep on killing people.”
“Maybe but if Jenny and Rachel’s sister have been murdered, he’s in prison—right?” Linc rubs his chin. “The cops can’t possibly blame him, they’ll more likely turn their attention toward us.”
“Then the murky story will come out for all to see.” Mia stands, hands on hips.
“Barnes will be linked with us for eternity. I figure he’s taking out the players one by one—but not for us.
Mom is right, he’s trying to remove any reference to himself.
He wants to lay low for a time and doesn’t want the attention the memoirs might bring. ”
I look from one to the other. “Exactly. But once he’s out of prison, what if he plans to tie up loose ends and come after me—after us?”